Traveling Music

Interests:Martial Arts, Water sports, Motorcycles, Road trips on the motorcycle

Posted 20 July 2010 - 09:58 PM

Been hurting the past few days. Started Monday morning. Took the day off. Stopped at the book store before i settled down for the rest of the day. Picked up Traveling Music by Neil Peart.

Almost finished it today but I am now settling down for the night. I have about 50 pages to go before its finished.

This is my review (sort of )

I had already read Ghost Rider last Christmas and was blown away. So I thought this would be as good.

Turns out this book was better. I went in thinking it was just about music and cars but it turned into an account of his past. It was interesting how he would go into the past, then tie it into his present life. As I read, i started to understand why one should keep a journal of your daily life.

It was also thrilling for me because the chronicles his journey in his BMW Z8 from LA to big Bend in West Texas. He even stops in Marfa Tx for breakfast. I have been there while exploring Texas with the motorcycle.

His taste in music is interesting. Everything from Madonna To Dido, Linkin Park to Patsy Cline, Tears for Fears, Icehouse, The Who and he even mentions Eminem. For you Porcupine Tree fans, they are mentioned as well. Currently he is recounting his travels through Africa on his motorcycle. He also uses the Phrase (working them angels) quite a bit. For me, it helps me understand him and his music a little more. Its also inspiring to read. Makes me want to get a journal. I have had them in the past, and i believe now is a good time to pick one up again and start writing. At least for my ammusement to read in the future.This book is much more on the lighter side then Ghost Rider, for obvious reasons. I would say it qualifies as a great autobiography of a rock star. I recomend this book, even to non Rush fans. Its a good read.

I agree this was better than "Ghost Rider," but you and I may be alone on that score.

Here's my review from Amazon. I was the first person to review the book there when it was published....

QUOTE

"Traveling Music" is the third book from Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the legendary Canadian rock band Rush. Like Peart's previous books, this one will be snatched-up and read only by Rush fans, and then overwhelmingly praised by the same whether the book deserves it or not - simply because of the author's name on the cover.

The boring and long-winded descriptions of plants and rock formations that made "Ghost Rider" such a tedious read (at least for this fan) are present in this volume as well, but fortunately they're not as prevalent. Peart also keeps the brief history lessons of passing towns to a minimum, something that might've made his earlier works breezier and more enjoyable.

The good news is that this is probably Peart's best so far. Amidst the history, geology, and botany lessons, the author offers his opinions on many musical artists - and these are some of the best moments in the book. (But it's a tad unfortunate that approximately one-third of the two dozen albums Peart critiques are all by Frank Sinatra.) Given the marketing of "Traveling Music," I expected more of these "musical appreciation" moments and less of the tedious travelogue stuff, but this volume is a step in the right direction from Peart's prior work.

By far the best parts of the book are the biographical chapters, two and six. Chapter Two is largely a rehash of an old Peart-penned newspaper article, "A Port Boy's Story," but here the author extrapolates on that earlier work with finer details - a pleasure for Rush fans looking for more information about the drummer. Chapter Six provides the story of Peart's years in London as a young man - an experience of his that fans were only superficially aware of before this writing. Now the detailed tale is finally told.

The round-trip voyage on which the narrative is based ends with eighty pages to go, along with the music reviews. Peart then tacks on the unrelated travelogue of an African cycling trip, details of Rush's appearance at the SARS benefit concert, and another brief travel story describing his efforts to complete the book we hold in our hands. These last 80 pages seem like an afterthought designed to pad the book to a longer length.

Altogether a much more entertaining read than the author's other books, thanks entirely to the biographical information and the music critiques. The travelogue stuff, like before, gets awfully boring after awhile. But if you love not just music (and Rush music in particular), but also travel, history, botany, and geology, you'll absolutely love this book. Without an interest in those things, you'll be as cranky in your review as I am - unless you believe Neil Peart can do no wrong.

I agree this was better than "Ghost Rider," but you and I may be alone on that score.

Here's my review from Amazon. I was the first person to review the book there when it was published....

QUOTE

"Traveling Music" is the third book from Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the legendary Canadian rock band Rush. Like Peart's previous books, this one will be snatched-up and read only by Rush fans, and then overwhelmingly praised by the same whether the book deserves it or not - simply because of the author's name on the cover.

The boring and long-winded descriptions of plants and rock formations that made "Ghost Rider" such a tedious read (at least for this fan) are present in this volume as well, but fortunately they're not as prevalent. Peart also keeps the brief history lessons of passing towns to a minimum, something that might've made his earlier works breezier and more enjoyable.

The good news is that this is probably Peart's best so far. Amidst the history, geology, and botany lessons, the author offers his opinions on many musical artists - and these are some of the best moments in the book. (But it's a tad unfortunate that approximately one-third of the two dozen albums Peart critiques are all by Frank Sinatra.) Given the marketing of "Traveling Music," I expected more of these "musical appreciation" moments and less of the tedious travelogue stuff, but this volume is a step in the right direction from Peart's prior work.

By far the best parts of the book are the biographical chapters, two and six. Chapter Two is largely a rehash of an old Peart-penned newspaper article, "A Port Boy's Story," but here the author extrapolates on that earlier work with finer details - a pleasure for Rush fans looking for more information about the drummer. Chapter Six provides the story of Peart's years in London as a young man - an experience of his that fans were only superficially aware of before this writing. Now the detailed tale is finally told.

The round-trip voyage on which the narrative is based ends with eighty pages to go, along with the music reviews. Peart then tacks on the unrelated travelogue of an African cycling trip, details of Rush's appearance at the SARS benefit concert, and another brief travel story describing his efforts to complete the book we hold in our hands. These last 80 pages seem like an afterthought designed to pad the book to a longer length.

Altogether a much more entertaining read than the author's other books, thanks entirely to the biographical information and the music critiques. The travelogue stuff, like before, gets awfully boring after awhile. But if you love not just music (and Rush music in particular), but also travel, history, botany, and geology, you'll absolutely love this book. Without an interest in those things, you'll be as cranky in your review as I am - unless you believe Neil Peart can do no wrong.

From the book "Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour By Motorcycle"

...But mostly I was content to be quiet and alone, catching up my journal notes and listening to Frank Sinatra's Cycles (1968). I noted that I wished that CD, from 1968, had been included in the playlist in Traveling Music.